The Meaning of Psalms 109:23 Explained

Psalms 109:23

KJV: I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.

YLT: As a shadow when it is stretched out I have gone, I have been driven away as a locust.

Darby: I am gone like a shadow when it lengtheneth; I am tossed about like the locust;

ASV: I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

I am gone  like the shadow  when it declineth:  I am tossed up and down  as the locust. 

What does Psalms 109:23 Mean?

Context Summary

Psalms 109:17-31 - The Deliverer Of The Needy
This psalm emphasizes the difference, indicated by our Lord, between His teaching and that addressed to "them of old time," especially on the point of forgiveness. It is in such teaching as this that the psalmist's mood is distinctly inferior to that which has now become the law for devout men. This at least may be said, that these ancient saints did not desire vengeance for private injuries, but that God's name and character might be vindicated. Devout men could not but long for the triumph of good and the defeat and destruction of its opposite.
The closing paragraph voices some of those lowly, sad petitions for help, which occur in so many of the psalms. This combination of devout meekness and trust with the fiery imprecations or predictions at the core of this psalm, substantiates what has been said above as to the spirit in which the psalm was conceived. It is not personal, but the voice of the Church asking God to make known the righteousness of His government. The psalm begins and ends with praise. It starts by picturing an adversary at the right hand of the wicked, Psalms 109:6, and closes with assurance that Jehovah stands at the right hand of His afflicted servant to deliver him. "I have set the Lord always before me: because He is at my right hand, I shall not be moved," Psalms 16:8. [source]

Chapter Summary: Psalms 109

1  David complains of his slanderous enemies
16  He shows their sin
21  Complaining of his own misery, he prays for help
29  He promises thankfulness

What do the individual words in Psalms 109:23 mean?

Like a shadow when it lengthens I am gone I am shaken off like a locust
כְּצֵל־ כִּנְטוֹת֥וֹ נֶהֱלָ֑כְתִּי נִ֝נְעַ֗רְתִּי כָּֽאַרְבֶּֽה

כְּצֵל־  Like  a  shadow 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular
Root: צֵל  
Sense: shadow, shade.
כִּנְטוֹת֥וֹ  when  it  lengthens 
Parse: Preposition-k, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, third person masculine singular
Root: נָטָה 
Sense: to stretch out, extend, spread out, pitch, turn, pervert, incline, bend, bow.
נֶהֱלָ֑כְתִּי  I  am  gone 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
נִ֝נְעַ֗רְתִּי  I  am  shaken  off 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: נָעַר 
Sense: to shake, shake out or off.
כָּֽאַרְבֶּֽה  like  a  locust 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אַרְבֶּה  
Sense: a kind of locust, locust swarm (coll).